Kobayashi no Asahina, Besso no fukujuso (Kobayashi no Asahina, Amur Adonis) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))

Kobayashi no Asahina, Besso no fukujuso (Kobayashi no Asahina, Amur Adonis) is a sheet from Utagawa Kunisada's Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers / Immortals of Poetry). The role of Kobayashi no Asahina, the strongman retainer who supports the Soga brothers in their long-running vendetta plays, is one of the great aragoto display roles of kabuki, and the New Year-flowering Amur adonis (fukujuso), traditionally associated with celebration and a long life, makes a fitting emblem for a character whose force underwrites a celebrated act of filial vengeance. Kunisada, the dominant designer of yakusha-e in nineteenth-century Edo ukiyo-e, presents the figure with exaggerated features, set glare, and the patterned costume associated with the role; the title cartouche and flower cartouche at top integrate the sheet into the series. The British Museum impression made available through ukiyo-e.org supports the broader record of Kunisada's mitate sanju-rokkasen designs and their place within his enormous theatre-print output. Source: ukiyo-e.org / British Museum (https://ukiyo-e.org/image/bm/AN00431496_001_l).